I'm confused about what was going on here. If other people owned the dispensaries on paper, then why were they handing over the profits to this guy? All I can think of is that he might have provided the start-up money for the dispensaries, but TFA isn't really clear about the nature of his connection to them.

Hmm, so declare your fifth amendment right against self incrimination in a letter and send it to the IRS.

Seriously. If you send the IRS a tax form declaring your income from a federally illegal activity you are supplying evidence in the prosecution against yourself. So any clarity about your income, from the source to the size, would be constitutionally protected information.

wildcardjack:Hmm, so declare your fifth amendment right against self incrimination in a letter and send it to the IRS.

Seriously. If you send the IRS a tax form declaring your income from a federally illegal activity you are supplying evidence in the prosecution against yourself. So any clarity about your income, from the source to the size, would be constitutionally protected information.

Unless, you know, we're just profit centers for Pfizer and ConAgra.

I've often wondered how that worked. Can you make an anonymous "donation" to the IRS?

BigLuca:wildcardjack: Hmm, so declare your fifth amendment right against self incrimination in a letter and send it to the IRS.

Seriously. If you send the IRS a tax form declaring your income from a federally illegal activity you are supplying evidence in the prosecution against yourself. So any clarity about your income, from the source to the size, would be constitutionally protected information.

Unless, you know, we're just profit centers for Pfizer and ConAgra.

I've often wondered how that worked. Can you make an anonymous "donation" to the IRS?

It's called a 1099 MISC form. This guy was an idiot.

You have to say who you are and your Social Security number, but not the type of business.

done in two. seriously. I have little sympathy for this guy. Not only greedy, but too stupid tor cheap to pay for a decent tax attorney/cpa. I guess the thought of opening a tax shelter business that loses money just never occured to him.

Tom_Slick:And this ladies and gentlemen, is how the federal government is going to enforce the federal prohibition on marijuana in states that have legalized it.

Or just hit him with federal drug laws. State laws can't supersede federal laws, marijuana is still illegal in states like California. Legalizing it helps keep small time users from being busted. Dispensaries and their owners will still get raided by the feds.

I can't tell from the article if the 13 other people arrested and charged with crimes where part of his dispensaries or not.

BarkingUnicorn:Tom_Slick: And this ladies and gentlemen, is how the federal government is going to enforce the federal prohibition on marijuana in states that have legalized it. tax evaders.

This...Not a "crack down" on dispensaries, the persecution of a tax evader.. The Feds have been Debbie downers on that particular issue for the last 235 years or so...

Just reminds me of some conversations I had with California pothead friends around election time. they were all bemoaning Obama and his supposed crack down on dispensaries. Every one I looked into involved dispensary owners doing shady, underhanded things that the absolutely did not have to do. You would think that individuals running a business that is so lucrative and so controversial would follow the damn rules to a T.

btchin trans-am:BigLuca: wildcardjack: Hmm, so declare your fifth amendment right against self incrimination in a letter and send it to the IRS.

Seriously. If you send the IRS a tax form declaring your income from a federally illegal activity you are supplying evidence in the prosecution against yourself. So any clarity about your income, from the source to the size, would be constitutionally protected information.

Unless, you know, we're just profit centers for Pfizer and ConAgra.

I've often wondered how that worked. Can you make an anonymous "donation" to the IRS?

It's called a 1099 MISC form. This guy was an idiot.

You have to say who you are and your Social Security number, but not the type of business.

PDF form: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf

You use that form when you pay a contractor to perform a service for you. You don't use that form when you are self employed. He could use schedule C to report his income. He could even report his income on line 21 - other income and he could avoid paying payroll taxes, but he would not be able to deduct expenses.